Romantic Popularity and Mate Preferences: A Peer-Nomination Study

In their quest to understand romantic relationships, researchers have extensively examined mate preferences. Self-report methods have been most commonly employed. In this study, the authors used a methodology not employed in other studies to date. First, they used peer reports of dating popularity to assess the extent to which individuals of varying qualities are romantically pursued by opposite-sex individuals. Second, the authors obtained peer nominations of a variety of qualities that self-report studies of mate preferences indicate may be important. Results revealed that romantically popular men are physically attractive, outgoing, and seen as trendsetters. Romantically popular women were also viewed as physically attractive and as trendsetters. In contrast to the self-report literature, men who were seen as having most potential for financial success were not particularly popular. Results are discussed with respect to the self-reported preferences literature.